EXTRACTING METALS FROM SULFIDE ORES
Many important metals are present in nature combined with sulfur as metal sulfides; these include cadmium, cobalt, copper, lead, molybdenum, nickel, silver, and zinc. In addition, gold and platinum group metals are associated with sulfidic base metal ores. The extraction of metals from their ores has been an essential factor in the creation and development of our advanced level of civilization.
Most sulfides are electrically conducting, generally semiconducting, and this allows electrochemical reactions to occur at the solid/solution interface In fact, electrochemical mechanisms play a key role in each of the processes that are involved in obtaining the component metals from their sulfide ores, namely, prospecting for ores (weathering of sulfide ore-bodies), separation and concentration of valuable components of ores (flotation), dissolving the valuable metal content of ores (extractive metallurgy), recovering metals from solution (electrowinning), and purifying the metal (electrorefining).
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